The Replacement Twin
by rhead-a-holyc
Summary: Harry has grown up knowing that he was adopted. A couple days before his fifteenth birthday, a strange man visits Harry house telling him many things that are difficult to believe. Finding out that his aunts and uncle knew of the wizarding world only sealed his entry into it. Dumbledore's new 'pawn' will be a king. Grey!Harry Manipulative!Dumbledore.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:**_** I do not own Harry Potter. Kudos go to J.F.C. for allowing me to adopt his ideas and allowing me to bounce ideas off him as well as suggesting or improving quite a few of the ideas that are going into this.**

_**Chapter 1**_

Harry had lived with his 'Aunt' Carina, as she always told him to call her, for as long as he could remember. He did on occasion have vague memories of a woman with green eyes and red hair and a man that had untidy hair like he did. He assumed these two were his parents as Aunt Carina tended to be very straightforward about things unless they were better left unsaid.

He had known that she was not his birth mother from a very young age. She was his mother though, even if they did not share the same blood. _She_ was the one that had raise him and not the red-haired woman he remembered only vaguely. He had told her so on many occasions and Aunt Carina had only ever laughed with a very pleased look in her eye but still never allowed him to call her 'Mother' or anything vaguely resembling the position she held in his life.

It was a couple of days before he turned fifteen and he had to admit that he was excited. Aunt Carina usually organized a party for him every year and he wondered what she was planning this year. No matter how hard he tried to find out what she had planned for him, he never figured it out until she was ready for him to find out which meant he only found out when he arrived at his birthday party. It was frustrating in a sense that he never knew how to prepare for his party.

His friends never helped either. They always managed to drop hints that said a lot but did not really tell him what his party would be like or even the theme. He could almost swear that Alex and Marcus talked with Aunt Carina and they discussed what to say that would excite him the most and exactly when to mention it. He would had it not been for the fact that he never saw them actually talk with Aunt Carina for much longer than the usual greeting and questions on her health.

The other reason for him being excited was because Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus visited them for his birthday every year. Aunt Carina told him that they were the only family she had left when he had asked her who they were when he had been younger.

He liked it when Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus visited because they always brought the strangest things with them. When he had been younger, they had brought a different flavor of ice-cream every year with the strangest flavors he had ever heard of. He often wondered where they had gotten such strange flavors from because none of the local ice-cream stores sold flavors like apple, pear and pineapple and even the more common ice-cream flavors they brought were nothing like the usual ones.

Last year they had gifted him with a diary that looked so beautiful he hadn't dared to open it yet. He was too afraid that he would ruin the entire thing. He had not even given a thought to writing in it because his atrocious handwriting would be terrible to look at in such an exquisite book. He had promised to get his handwriting to improve before he wrote in the journal. The journal was still sitting on his table in his room and his writing had made no improvements in the last year.

Harry really wished that for once he could figure out the plans Aunt Carina had for his birthday party. It would ruin the surprise but it would also be different and he wouldn't be as inquisitive as he was yearly during the week that led up to his birthday. He knew he tended to annoy Aunt Carina every year during that time as she usually got rather irritable but that was not his fault. He hated being kept out of the proverbial loop.

He was going to start Year 11 in September and he could finally see the end of his schooling career in the relatively close future. Of course over the next couple of school years he would probably be working harder than he ever had before but this was a good holiday from the work that would begin in little over a month's time, once September began.

He was not thinking about that right now though. He would deal with that as it came and hopefully not procrastinate as he was wont to do on occasion. He would focus on the mystery of his currently impending birthday party for now.

Sometimes Harry honestly wished he could read his Aunt's mind. He knew that was impossible but it had always been one of the childish desires that had never gone away even as he had grown older. Harry then winced at the thought of being able to read minds when some of the dating couples he knew were in the room. He highly doubted he would like that and that thought had always stopped his desire to read minds in its tracks like suddenly hitting the breaks.

He sighed again and glanced once again at the kitchen door behind which he knew his Aunt sat planning his party. She had locked the door of course, learning from the one time when he had opened the door slightly to listen in to her phone call when he had been younger. She never made that mistake again, unless she was purposefully giving him a hint to get him more excited and he _really_ did not want to hear whatever she was saying if it was the latter case. It would drive him up the walls.

It was at this point that Harry wished he had a pet again so that he could distract himself from thinking about what Aunt Carina could possibly be planning but his Aunt was allergic to fur in general and had strictly forbidden anything even remotely dangerous in her house so Harry hadn't been able to get a pet.

He couldn't go and visit Marcus or Alex either. Marcus and his family had gone on holiday. He hadn't asked for more details about it but Marcus had assured him that they would be back in time for his birthday and Alex was visiting his sick grandmother so he would not be at home either.

Harry sighed as he moved outside to lie on the grass under the shade of the biggest tree in their garden. The day was not as horribly hot as the previous days had been, there was even a cool breeze that drifted past every once in a while that kept him cool. It was close to midday, the sun was high in the sky, and he knew that Aunt Carina would be calling him back inside soon.

There was barely anyone in the sun or even outside their houses right now. He saw Mr. and Mrs. Paul and their two children Andrea and Brian get into their car down the road. He vaguely remembered them apologizing to Aunt Carina for not being able to make his birthday because they were going on holiday. They had apologized to him too but he did not really mind. He was not particularly close to them and from what he had heard from Aunt Carina, they deserved the holiday anyway. He wasn't about to complain about their absence. He saw them waving at him and he waved back before the car doors slammed shut and the engine started with a low growl.

When the smell of food wafted out of the kitchen window, Harry's stomach grumbled in response. Aunt Carina's voice followed the smell as she called him in for lunch. He stood quickly, dusted himself off and entered the kitchen at a pace that was perhaps a bit quicker than it usually was. Breakfast had seemed like such a long time ago and he _had_ only eaten a couple of slices of toast.

Aunt Carina gave him a knowing look as she had been visiting one of the neighbors when he had woken up in the morning. Harry gave her a sheepish smile before digging into the food that Aunt Carina had served him. It tasted heavenly as it always did. Aunt Carina was the best cook he knew and he had tasted many people's cooking when they had been invited over to their neighbors' and friends' houses. He was not the only one that thought so either as Aunt Carina was always praised for her food by their guests as well. If Harry didn't know better, he would have thought that Alex and Marcus on stayed until it became extremely late so that they could have some of his aunt's cooking.

The cakes she baked were even better than the ones they sold in the bakeries and he had managed to get her to promise to always cook his birthday cakes after the first time. She had baked a cake for his fifth birthday party because they had somehow managed to forget about the cake that time. That had been the first time he had tasted a cake baked by her and he had never gone back.

Harry had tried to learn to cook once from Aunt Carina. She had been amused at his desire to learn how to cook and had patiently taught him until he could cook a variety of things that would ensure that he would never starve if he was left alone. He wasn't anywhere near the level of Aunt Carina's cooking though but she had assured him that it would come with practice and experience with the food. He only cooked once in a while though, mainly because he did not want to miss the opportunity of eating Aunt Carina's food. It was something he would never get tired of.

It was the one thing that he knew meant he was home.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer:_**** I do not own Harry Potter. Kudos go to J.F.C. for allowing me to adopt his ideas and allowing me to bounce ideas off him as well as suggesting or improving quite a few of the ideas that are going into this.**

_**Chapter 2**_

When Harry came home a couple of days later and saw Aunt Dorea, Uncle Charlus and a wizened old man that wore strange clothing and had a beard that looked like it had not been cut in decades, a strange sinking feeling in his stomach that he usually associated with something going wrong. It had been the same feeling he had felt when Alex had dared him to try and ride a bicycle and he had broken his arm. It had been an injury that had taken _weeks_ to heal. He had not liked that too much.

He probably was not going to like this either. He could tell by the barely disguised fury on Aunt Carina's face and the unhidden annoyance on Aunt Dorea's and Uncle Charlus' faces. He knew from experience that whenever those three had the expressions they currently had on that the situations was not one he truly wanted to be in. Their anger was directed at the eccentric man sitting calmly on the couch as he gazed around the room.

All the people within the room had turned towards him when he walked into the room a little while later, after he had attempted to take in the situation fully. He made no move of acknowledging the unexpected guest as he greeted his aunts and uncle. It was not necessary to greet a person you had never met before or did not recognize until you were introduced in Aunt Carina's house and he was currently using that to his advantage and would continue to do so for as long as he possibly could.

He did not like the old man. He somehow managed to rub Harry the wrong way by simply being in the same room with him and that was extremely strange and had never happened to him before to this extent. Sure people had rubbed him the wrong way before but that had only been _after_ they managed to open their mouth and talk.

This man was an entirely different story. He was dressed in something that looked suspiciously like one of the robes he had seen in fairytales when he had been younger. Harry wondered how the man had managed to make his way through London like that. Surely someone would have done _something_ when they saw him.

Harry usually thought of himself as a good judge of a person's character upon first sight. He would not want that old man as one of his friends. His gut told him that the old man was not someone to be trusted, Aunt Carina's expression had only cemented that fact in his mind had he been even a little bit doubtful and wishing to judge the man by appearances. He _looked_ like a kindly old man that was benevolent and something akin to a grandfather to everybody.

There were small things that said otherwise though, things that not many people would pick up on. The glint in his eye for one, at first glance in made him look slightly senile but if you looked for just a little bit longer you would be able to see the plans and calculations that went on in the man's mind. The man was continuously plotting and planning.

The other more notable thing was the pride the man held himself with. It almost seemed like the man expected everyone to respect him and pay attention to whatever he said. Harry would not really be surprised if the man expected people to follow his every command without a word of complaint or even a second of hesitation. That amount of pride in _anybody_ was dangerous and from the impression the other man gave off, he was probably surrounded by children or people younger than him on a daily basis. That would also mean that he would be in charge which Harry did not find a particularly pleasant thought in his mind.

"Harry, this is Professor Dumbledore," Aunt Carina said, introducing them to each other after a tense silence, "Professor, this is Harry."

Harry mentally groaned. He had been right in his assumption then. The old man was some sort of teacher that had authority in whatever institution he was from. He only hoped the man wasn't here to offer him a place at wherever he was teaching as he was probably going to reject it immediately unless he had no choice. He hadn't applied anywhere yet though. He sent Aunt Carina a questioning look out of the corner of his eye.

"Pleasure to meet you, professor," Harry replied. He could be polite or at the very least be polite for Aunt Carina despite the fact that she did not look like she wanted to be particularly polite herself. She had that glint in her eye that warned him that she was in the mood of kicking people out of their home. He hoped this 'Professor Dumbledore' got kicked out soon. Not only for the comic relief such an action would provide.

"How have you been doing my boy?" Dumbledore said with a genial smile.

Harry's eye twitched slightly. This man comes unannounced into their home and talks to him as if Harry had known the man his entire life and not just been introduced to him minutes previous? He certainly was as senile as he looked if he believed that was going to work as well as the man obviously expected it to work. In some part of his mind he was glad that he had rejected Alex's offer of walking home with him, him mood was worsening by the minute.

"My name is Harry," Harry said with a false calm, "I would be extremely pleased if you managed to use it. I am no one's _boy_."

Dumbledore looked startled for a moment and Harry caught sight of Aunt Dorea's smirk that he was sure would be echoed almost eerily so by Aunt Carina. Harry carefully watched as Dumbledore's mind frantically calculated this new scenario into his schemes and plans. Harry knew for certain that he was a key factor in whatever the man was planning or he would not have bothered about him. He knew people like this professor, they only did something when it benefitted them in some way or the other and never really cared about the people they trampled on to get what they wanted.

"Very well Harry. Carina had certainly been teaching you well," Dumbledore said.

Harry chose not to react to that barely disguised barb at the woman that was his mother in all ways that truly counted. Harry figured that he could pretty much assume that this 'Professor' knew his birth parents from the way he was treating his adopted family.

"Yes she has," Harry smiled lightly. "She's been complimented on how marvelously she had managed to raise me on her own by many people, Professor Dumbledore. I'm sure she's flattered."

Aunt Dorea's expression turned positively gleeful at this and even Uncle Charlus had smirked. He thought he heard Aunt Carina sniggering somewhere behind him but she quickly disguised it as a light cough and reached for a glass of water. Harry ignored all of their reactions and maintained an expression that indicated that he had not noticed the intended double meaning behind his words.

"Aunt Carina, are you okay?" Harry asked innocently, turning to face her for a moment. Not missing the thoughtful look that had crossed the professor's eyes.

"I'm fine dear," Aunt Carina said as she took another sip of water from her glass.

"Why do call Miss Carina your 'aunt' and not your 'mother'?" Dumbledore asked looking curious.

It was the first real emotion he had seen from the man during their short conversation but Harry knew that how he answered could probably be used against him. The professor had an ulterior motive behind his question.

"Well …" Harry looked at Aunt Carina for a moment, "Aunt Carina _is_ my mother in all ways that truly matter to me no matter whether or not I call her 'mother.' I don't really mind either way. Aunt Carina would prefer it if I called her 'aunt' instead of 'mother' and since she prefers it, that's what I call her. She knows what she is to me and does not need to be called 'mother' by me to make it so. We are happy with the way it is …"

Harry shrugged once he had finished speaking. He knew he had probably said more than he should have but that did not really matter to him too much. Everything he had said was true and there would be nothing that could change it. He turned to look at Aunt Carina again and saw that she had started to tear up. She sent him a small smile which he returned without hesitation.

'Would you not like to meet your birth parents though?" Dumbledore asked after his last plan had failed seemingly unwittingly.

"You know my birth parents?" Harry asked, faking a surprised expression that fooled almost everyone and even Aunt Carina on the odd occasion.

"Of course I do, Harry. They were two very bright students of mine," Dumbledore said, looking pleased that the conversation was finally going the way he wanted it to go.

He did not realize that Harry had already figured him out and Harry was not about to inform him of that little fact. That made talking with Dumbledore lean slightly in his favour and he would not give up that advantage. He had already assumed that the professor probably knew his parents but with it confirmed, it shed a bit more light on the situation. The professor wanted to take him away from Aunt Carina and his home and send him to live with his birth parents. Why would he want to do that though? Why had his parents not come themselves if they had wanted him back so badly? Why now?


	3. Chapter 3

**____****Disclaimer:****I do not own Harry Potter. Kudos go to J.F.C. for allowing me to adopt his ideas and allowing me to bounce ideas off him as well as suggesting or improving quite a few of the ideas that are going into this.**

**_Chapter 3_**

"You had a twin, Harry," Dumbledore said with an air of revealing some magnificent secret that no one was supposed to know to Harry.

Harry saw Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus wince and then glare at the old man from where they sat on the couches. Aunt Dorea's fists were clenched in fury and Uncle Charlus looked like he was ready to kill the professor. The latter was a startling reaction from his usually calm and easygoing uncle who almost never took anything seriously. Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus had to know his birth parents then. Harry wondered if that meant they were related to him somehow. He would not mind being related to them especially if that meant he was blood related to Aunt Carina.

"Had a twin? What do you mean?" Harry asked, tilting his head to the side curiously. He wondered about the past tense of the professors sentence and what had happened to the 'twin' he had who he did not even know. If they were twins why had his birth parents decided to only keep one twin and not the other?

"Yes, Harry, _had._ You see, your brother, your _twin_, had an unfortunate accident during the last school year while in a tournament. We tried to heal him to the best of our abilities but unfortunately he did not make it," Dumbledore said, his voice somber.

Uncle Charlus was visibly holding himself back at this point. Harry could make out his lips muttering choice cuss words that Aunt Dorea could probably hear but she was not doing anything about it or even scolding him. She probably agreed with him then because Harry knew that Uncle Charlus could get rather creative with his swearing when he was as angry as he looked now.

The wording Dumbledore had used to explain his supposed twin's death did not sit right with Harry. He had used the word 'heal' and no one used that word for when they were trying to fix gravely injured people. Those people usually got operated on in an attempt to save their life. 'Heal' was used for the smaller injuries that could not kill you like a small cut or a bruise, or some injury that was not life threatening but would take a long time to get better.

"Heal?" Harry questioned.

Dumbledore paused as he realized his slip, Harry could see him thinking hard about how to fix the slip. When he finally sighed and looked serious, Harry saw Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus freeze and exchange glances with each other and Aunt Carina behind him. The entire room went unexpectedly silent and Harry glanced around at the other three people in confusion, trying to figure out what had caused the change in atmosphere of the room.

"Harry, there is a world of magic that lies hidden within the muggle world. Yes, magic is real as are wielders of magic. Your Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus are a witch and wizard, they are able to use magic as I am, as you are. You're a wizard," Dumbledore said in a very secretive voice.

"But I have never done anything vaguely magical," Harry said, "no one had been turned into a toad when I was angry. You have to be mistaken. I don't have magic, I can't be a wizard!"

"You do have magic and you are a wizard," Dumbledore said, suddenly looking much older than he had been a minute ago. "Almost fourteen years ago a dark wizard attacked you and your twin and marked your twin for a destiny to defeat him. I bound your magic on that night, for you own safety. I did not want that evil wizard to target you to get to your twin and reasoned that if you did not have magic and grew up in the muggle world that he would not target you. I had been right in that regard."

This was obviously news to Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus along with Aunt Carina who had come to sit next to him. Their expressions were so furious that Harry doubted he would have been particularly shocked if the professor started to spontaneously combust right there in the middle of the lounge from their heated glares if magic truly did exist. Harry decided to question his aunts and uncle later after this professor had left. He would be able to ask them anything then and would probably receive more objective answers than he would with this professor.

"I assume that you wish to remove the binds on my magic then?" Harry asked. That question in itself was a loaded one. If the professor said yes then that meant that he obviously wanted Harry to become a target to this evil wizard and take up his brothers position and destiny to save a world that he did not even know nor understand. This professor would probably expect him to fight and defend something he knew nothing about and from what Harry could tell of the professor's personality, he would also be kept in the dark about everything that did not directly concern him.

Harry already knew the answer to the question because if the professor did not want to remove the binds from his magic, he would not be here at all. This was not simply a friendly visit, Harry had known that from a start but Harry _really_ did not like the price of receiving his magic back because he knew he would end up being forced to live with his birth parents, who he doubted really cared about him, and fight a war that he was both not supposed to fight at his age and defend something he did not understand and would probably not believe in if it had people like this professor leading it.

"Yes," Dumbledore said simply, nodding his head.

"I don't know," Harry said, making sure there was an uncertain and slightly shocked expression on his face. "I think I need some time to take all of this in. I'm not entirely sure that magic exists yet and to have all of this thrust on me so suddenly … I think I just need some time to … try and take everything in and try to understand everything that I've been told. I'll have to get used to the idea back and become more comfortable around it before I think I will be able to manage to get my magic back."

Dumbledore nodded with understanding eyes. "Of course, I understand that this will be a bit much to take in all at once. I'll be back in a week to remove the binds," Dumbledore said. He looked slightly relieved that Harry had believed him to easily and probably thought that Harry trusted him. Harry snorted at the thought of ever trusting Dumbledore.

Dumbledore left not long afterwards, much to the relief of the other current occupants of the house. Once he had left though, the atmosphere got a bit awkward between the four, especially on the side of the adults who had already known of the world of magic. None of them knew quite what to say that would make everything that Dumbledore had revealed a bit less shocking than it currently was to Harry.

"I don't blame you for not telling me," Harry said suddenly, causing the adults to jump slightly. "If any of you had told me that magic was real and that someone had sealed my magic, I probably would have thought you were crazy."

"We didn't know that your magic had been sealed," Aunt Dorea said softly from her place on the couch. "We believed that you had been born a squib, like your Aunt Carina had been, because children under the age of one do not generally produce accidental magic. If we had known," she shook her head slightly, "if we had known that your magic had been blocked we would have found a way, any way to unseal your magic even make threats if we had to."

"A squib?" Harry prodded further, his head tilted slightly while looking at Aunt Carina, half expecting to suddenly see tentacles instead of arms. "I don't see anything different about Aunt Carina."

Aunt Carina laughed. "Not a squid, Harry, a squib. A squib is a person who was born to a magical family but cannot use magic like me. That's why I moved to the muggle world, such a thing tends to be unnatural in the Wizarding World and is often mocked by the purebloods," she said.

Harry gave Aunt Carina a half hug from where he sat next to her and redirected his questioning towards Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus.

"What's a muggle and pureblood?" he asked.

"A muggle is a normal person who does not have magic in their family nor are they likely to ever encounter magic in their life. They don't believe in magic, like all of your neighbors. There is nothing physically different between a muggle and a wizard with the exception of a witch's or wizard's magical core that allows them to cast magic," Aunt Dorea explained. "A pureblood is a witch or wizard who is born of a long line of wizards. They consider their blood to be 'pure' because they do not have any muggles or muggleborns in their family for as long as the family tapestry had been around. Muggleborns are witches and wizards who have magic despite being born from two muggles," she answered before he could even voice his question.

"You're taking the entire magic thing rather well," Uncle Charlus noted.

"It's easier to believe in magic than to believe that the professor that had just left had managed to navigate through London dressed as he was. It is extremely hard to believe no one had done anything if they had seen him as he was dressed," Harry grinned. "I mean just imagine what would happen if he had run into Mrs. Davidson next door! He would have received a very good talking to for how he dressed in public. She would probably even give him hints on how to chose his clothing in the future before she allowed him to continue to his destination."

Aunt Carina was laughing by now, her previous glum mood disappearing much to Harry's pleasure. Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus joined in one the laughter once the mental image of Dumbledore getting scolded by a half-blind old lady as he walked past.

Harry continued bombarding Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus with whatever questions popped into his mind with Aunt Carina joining in every now and then to clarify some unclear points to Harry. Aunt Dorea had even demonstrated small bits of magic to Harry upon request, they were simple things like levitation and summoning but they still managed to awe Harry.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer:**_** I do not own Harry Potter. Kudos go to J.F.C. for allowing me to adopt his ideas and allowing me to bounce ideas off him as well as suggesting or improving quite a few of the ideas that are going into this.**

_**Chapter 4**_

Harry had quickly forgotten about his birthday, his mind on everything he had learned about magic from Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus. Aunt Carina helped on the odd occasion but for the most part she was out of the house and Harry did not pay her any mind. They were used to each other coming and going as they pleased because Harry often visited his friends and Aunt Carina still had a job and helped their neighbours whenever they needed it. Aunt Carina did not mind Harry staying out as long as he told her that he would be out late do that she did not worry.

Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus had brought a couple of theory books for Harry to read so he could understand more of his magic before his magic was unblocked. They had assured him that they would stay with him in Aunt Carina's house until he was surer of his magic and would not lose control easily. They had told him that his magic would be unstable for the first month or so until his body and magic became familiar with one another again. Both Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus had explained this calmly but Harry could still see the fire within their eyes at the thought of Dumbledore binding his magic without them knowing.

They all knew that Harry would be going to Hogwarts. It was an unspoken fact between them that they all preferred not to think about with the proximity Dumbledore would have to Harry. No one liked that fact but there was nothing they could do about it, having Harry go to Durmstrang as Aunt Dorea wanted or even the alternative of Beauxbatons would arouse suspicions within the wizarding community especially since Harry was a Potter. Harry not going to Hogwarts would indicate that Harry did not side with Dumbledore which in turn would make Dumbledore assume that Harry sided with the only alternative, Voldemort, and assume that they were enemies. Harry did not want enemies when he was still new to the wizarding world and was still trying to gather his bearings. Only after gaining enough knowledge on the wizarding world would Harry be able to make a decision on whom he supported and he knew right now that it probably was not going to be Dumbledore.

He had told his friends that he was going to a boarding school up north already. Neither had been pleased with the idea of only seeing Harry during the holidays but they had reluctantly accepted it. Alex and Marcus had promised to make sure they came around to Harry's house every day so that they could make the most of the time they had left. Alex had admitted that it was going to be strange going to school without Harry every morning and having no one sitting next to during their shared classes. Similarly, it would be strange for Harry to go to lessons without Alex and Marcus being in any of them as in their school Harry usually had both of them in his classes.

Everything piling up had caused the birthday party Aunt Carina had been planning for Harry to come as a real surprise to him. He had easily lost track of the time while bombarding Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus with questions and visiting Alex or talking to Marcus over the phone whenever he could. Aunt Carina had been pleased by his surprise despite the circumstances surrounding it. This was the first time she had managed to surprise Harry in a very long time.

Most of his neighbours and classmates had come to his party, somehow the news of him leaving the school had spread like wildfire and almost everyone asked him about it when he greeted them as he walked around the room like he did every year. Aunt Carina was doing something similar except she kept to the adults while Harry had to greet everyone that had come. Harry was not entirely sure where Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus were at that moment in time but he was sure that they would show up after a while as they usually did.

Harry wasn't entirely sure whether he should be excited for his birthday or not. He wanted to be excited for the fact that he was now fifteen as he was every year for growing one year older but his birthday also signified the fact that he would have to leave his home for some unknown place soon possibly to live with people he had never met yet already had expectations for him.

Harry had to admit that he was scared of what he would find, what he would experience at Hogwarts. Everything would be so new and so very _different. _Dumbledore would be so close by and Harry was unwilling to allow himself to become a target or a toy for the older man to play with and manipulate as the older man seemed to enjoy doing. Aunt Carina _had_ taught him well and he was not about to put all the knowledge he had gained from her to waste by trusting the people he met so easily.

No one had been willing to leave his party until the sun sinking in the distant horizon and it was nearly dark outside, indicating that it was not quite polite for them to stay much longer. Harry was bewildered when some of his classmates that he barely knew told him that they would miss him when they had barely uttered more than one sentence to him in the last couple of _years_. Harry almost let out a sigh of relief as the house slowly emptied out and grew silent. Once everyone left, they would have their yearly celebration of Harry's birthday between the people who Harry was extremely close to.

Tracy and her two friends were the only ones who remained in their home after everyone else had left. Alex and Marcus smirked at Harry as Harry swallowed thickly and wiped his suddenly wet palms on his trousers. Harry almost wished that he had never told Alex and Marcus of his crush on Tracy, they constantly teased him about it whenever Tracy walked past. The two were ruthless and Harry would be surprised if Tracy had not yet figured out what, or rather who, they teased him about.

"Harry," Tracy called as she approached him, "Happy birthday."

Harry could hear Alex snigger as Harry stumbled over his reply, "T-Thank you." Tracy smiled and Harry could swear that his heart skipped a beat.

"I'm so sorry to hear that you had to transfer to another school. I'm going to miss you," Tracy said with a small smile. "I'll always remember the first time we were paired together during chemistry and we managed to make the experiment blow up."

Harry was sure that his heart had left his body and begun to soar at that point. Harry had been harbouring this _little_ crush of his for the past two years, ever since they had become chemistry partners. Harry knew that the explosion had been his fault, he had simply been too nervous around Tracy at that time.

_Tracy_ would miss him, she would _always_ remember him.

"-besides, you are kinda cute in your own way."

Harry blinked, apparently Tracy had started talking once again while he had still been processing the fact that she would miss him and remember him. Harry did not think he could even manage to think with this overload of information. Tracy thought he was cute?

"Well, it's getting late I've got to go. I hope to see you again," Tracy said with a smile as she waved and left his house with her two friends. Harry did not move, still in shock at everything Tracy had just told him. They could have been dating if he had been able to gather enough courage to simply ask her during one of the chemistry lessons while no one was watching them, all concentrating on whichever experiment they were trying to complete this time.

Aunt Carina as well as Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus, who had arrived only a couple of hours earlier, watched Harry with a vague sense of amusement. Charlus remembered the first time that had happened to him but he was glad for the lack of courage at that point because that left him open for when he had actually plucked up his wavering courage and tried. That had gotten him his beautiful wife.

Harry finally snapped out of his daze and noticed that Alex and Marcus looked as stunned as he had felt. Harry was slightly glad that he was not the only one that had been shocked by Tracy's words but those words made him want to go to Hogwarts less. Harry had a chance at the person he was crushing on only for that to be taken away from him before he had even been able to ask her out. Harry almost felt like he was being cheated by being forced to go to Hogwarts as he was.

Harry was about to turn around and guide his friends into the kitchen when movement outside the window caught his eye. Harry turned to fully face the window and pulled the curtain slightly back to see more clearly.

There were three figures that were walking calmly down their street. One of them was the old man who called himself Professor Dumbledore, another was a woman that looked fairly young with a mass of fiery curls that surrounded her head and another man that looked similar to the woman in age, wore thickly framed glasses and had untamable hair that was similar to what Harry knew his sometimes looked like when he woke up.

"Aunt Carina, Aunt Dorea, Uncle Charlus!" Harry called in a somewhat calm manner despite the fact that his mind was currently working as fast as it possibly could to try and postpone this meeting for a little while longer despite the utter futility he knew would come from any actions. The trio was already on their street, there was no where he could go, nowhere he could hide. Harry could have gone to Marcus's house if he had been given _some warning_ of them visiting. Harry did not want to miss the people who had been willing to place him in an orphanage to favour his twin brother. They were not honest, they could not be if they asked for him to be under their care once more.

His biological parents were visiting unannounced and almost completely ruining what had been a truly wonderful birthday party. One of the best he had been to in a while, although that may just be his pride in Aunt Carina that made it the best.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer:**_** I do not own Harry Potter. Kudos go to J.F.C. for allowing me to adopt his ideas and allowing me to bounce ideas off him as well as suggesting or improving quite a few of the ideas that are going into this**

_**Chapter 5**_

It was as good as a disaster. Harry was not entirely sure whether or not it would be suitable to panic visibly or internally, either way he was panicking. He was not sure whether he was ready to meet his birth parents or if he ever really wanted to. He had been perfectly happy simply not knowing about those two people, what he had learned about them was more than enough. Harry _really_ did not want to see the third party of the trio. That infuriating man on his own made the situation worse than it would have normally been had he been only meeting his birth parents.

Harry heard Aunt Carina, Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus come up behind him and catch sight of what he was staring at. He heard Aunt Dorea let out a soft groan. Vaguely he heard Alex and Marcus asking him what was wrong before they were led out of the room by Uncle Charlus. Harry wasn't entirely sure what his uncle was planning to do but he was unable to give it much thought either as his mind rapidly went to work, trying to find the best way to get out of the situation they all knew was coming. There would only be one reason for Dumbledore to bring his birth parents with him. Dumbledore wanted Harry to go and live with the two.

Harry winced at the thought and his eyes flickered over to Aunt Carina as she began moving towards the door. Harry had no idea how she could remain so calm at a moment like this when even Aunt Dorea seemed frozen, even as she muttered furiously under her breath about inconsiderate gatecrashers. Under any other circumstances Harry would have been incredibly amused by Aunt Dorea's words and he was sure he would find amusement in it later while he was in his room, once this entire situation was sorted out. He _was not_ going to live with some couple who he did not know, who were as good as strangers to him. He would fight and argue until he was blue in the face if he had to because he _would not_ let them whisk him off to a new world alone.

It was with grim determination that he met James and Lily Potter for the first time. Their potentially pleasant faces had been pulled into angry scowls as they noted the presence of Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus in the house with them. Dumbledore had invited himself within the threshold of their house, assuming that he would be allowed in after being welcomed with a frigid iciness the first time. He seemed to ignore the tension within the room as he occupied the same seat as he had the last time he had been there with James and Lily taking the seats that Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus had occupied previously. Harry glanced at Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus who to his surprise, spotted shadows of smirks on their faces at how uncomfortable Lily and James looked. Harry had to blink a couple of times before he noticed that expression on their usually cheerful or calm faces. It was admittedly strange but then again, nothing had really been _normal_ for the past few days. He almost missed normal.

He decided to take the time to examine the two strangers. The man had untidy black hair that looked like he had not even bothered to try and neaten it in anyway, a pair of spectacles were supported by his nose. His hazel eyes gazed around the room, holding not a little bit of disregard and haughtiness as he took in all their meagre but meaningful possessions. His posture screamed arrogance in a way that made it seem like he was not someone used to not getting his way in anything. Harry could only assume that this man had never been forced to buy anything but the best and took advantage of the fact that he was wealthy, something that he saw as strange when he considered who his parents were and how they behaved.

The woman had a fiery mass of red hair that had been forcibly tamed with a band at the back of her head, her bright green eyes focussed entirely on him. She seemed to be at ease in the muggle setting which told him that she had spent a lot of time and perhaps had been raised in the muggle world. She did not look around and seemed a lot more controlled than her husband. She had dark circles under her eyes along with a slight redness that had hinted at tears, but her eyes held a spark of hope but there was also expectation lying in her eyes.

Both were dressed in expensive clothing that looked entirely out of place and entirely to stiff bordering on uncomfortable-looking. Harry sighed mentally, if these two were the alternate option for his guardians he was grateful he had not been raised by them. He shuddered at the thought of how he could possibly have turned out, a spoilt brat no doubt. He could only feel pity towards a child who was under their care as his hypothetical twin had been. He still was not entirely convinced that he even _had_ a twin although Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus had constantly been telling him that it was true. They obviously expected the doubt though so they never looked irritated at having to repeat themselves as often as they did.

"Harry," the woman said, eyes roving over him carefully as if she could barely believe he was there. It almost seemed like she needed the confirmation that he was real and not simply a figment of her imagination.

Harry winced at the familiarity in the tone of her voice that implied some sort of previous meeting between them, some sort of trust shared between friends or even acquaintances. He sighed knowing that there was no possible way for him to get out of this situation of forced familiarity without seeming outlandishly rude, but that did not mean he was comfortable with the entire situation so he did not bother to answer. There was no reply that had been voiced within his name, even if there was he was ignoring it. Pointedly.

Harry could see a similar intense interest lingering in the man's eyes as James' unwanted attention was turned to Harry. He could feel those eyes examining him as they roved along his body, looking for tiny perceived errors that came from not being raised by him. Harry sneered mentally, not allowing any of his dislike to show on his face.

"Happy birthday Harry," the man said finally, his examination over.

"Thank you," Harry replied, biting back the words on how a 'happy birthday' had been ruined by their presence. That would have been entirely too rude and would probably reflect badly on Aunt Carina who was currently hiding her shock well but Harry had lived with her for too long not to notice that. She looked just about as shocked as he felt, which was no particularly good for him.

Dumbledore smiled cheerfully and Harry had to stomp down the very strong urge to growl at the wizened man in a very threatening manner. Dumbledore had probably known what he had been interrupting and had planned it so that they would be invited to their private celebration. He had obviously not counted on the fact that his reputation preceded him in this instance, and his reputation was not pleasant amongst the current occupants of their home.

"I take it you have enjoyed your birthday thus far?" Dumbledore asked. The two Potters cast Harry looks of interest as they waited on his answer. They looked as if they expected Harry to answer in the negative. They looked so hopeful that it was almost sickening for Harry to even keep his eyes on the two for much longer.

"I have," Harry grinned as he exchanged a glance with Aunt Dorea and Charlus. "It was one of the few times Aunt Carina managed to surprise me with the party, which made it one of the best birthdays I have ever had."

Aunt Carina sent Harry an appreciative smile in response and Harry took the time to wonder what Uncle Charlus had done with his two friends. He could not have had a more than a couple of minutes to do whatever he had planned. Harry turned around just in time to see the flash of hurt cross the woman's face and an angry expression settle then disappear on the man's face.

"Good, good," Dumbledore went silent for a moment as he thought over his next words. "I have mentioned them in passing the last time we met but I believe the day of your birth was the best time for you to be re-introduced to your parents, Lily and James Potter."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement of the two as they sent Dumbledore sharp glances. Harry wondered at their differing definitions of 'best time.' Harry wondered whether their entire idea of such an occasion was different or whether their entire concepts of such situations were vastly different.

"Besides I wished for other people well versed in the art of magic to be here as a precaution while your block is removed," Dumbledore said almost offhandedly.

Harry felt indignant on Aunt Dorea's and Uncle's Charlus part. What exactly were they supposed to be? Chopped liver? Harry was sure that even singularly, Aunt Dorea _or_ Uncle Charlus knew more than Lily and James knew combined. Dumbledore was simply grasping at straws for a reason to bring his two loyal hounds tagging along. They had no place nor had they any reason to disturb the peace that had existed before them.

Harry noticed that Lily and James did not look surprised at hearing the news of him having a bond, which blatantly told him that they had either known of it the entire time or had trusted Dumbledore enough to do whatever he wished with their one year old son and had not bothered to ask questions. Neither possibility was elevating them in the slightest with him.

"So you will be removing the block today then?" Harry asked slightly nervously. It was a terrifying thought, having something within you that you had never known off, something that you could quite easily lose control over within seconds, something that was powerful and reacted to your emotions as many of the text books had explained.

"Yes. The sooner the better so that you have more time to adjust to your magic," Dumbledore said gently.

Harry took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his rapidly beating heart and nodded quickly. He led them to the room that Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus had meticulously prepared and warded during their long stay there. Harry had watched them work and asked them what seemed like a thousand questions that they had not minded answering about what they called wards, runes and something else he could not quite remember the name of. Harry lay down on the bed as he had been told to on multiple occasions before hand and had been suggested by the various books on the subject. He wanted to get this over and done with as fast as he possibly could so the unwanted visitors could leave.

Harry received three reassuring looks from the three people who really mattered to him as Dumbledore stood above him, chanting and waving a stick that he had come to recognize as a wand in vague patterns in the air.

Harry felt something break, it was incredibly painful and he could not stop the screams that left his mouth. He felt something that was akin to finding a lost limb that you never knew that you were missing, something powerful that gave him both joy and contentment but also a slight bit of fear. Those feelings were short lived as darkness enveloped Harry's mind and he passed out.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer:**_** I do not own Harry Potter.**

_**Chapter 6**_

"Don't you _dare_, boy!"

Harry groaned mentally as he was harshly woken from the deep darkness he had previously been floating gently within. From the raised voices around him, he could only guess that there was some kind of argument raging on around him. It sounded like the argument had been both growing in volume as well as angered emotions for some time now.

"I am still the Lord of this House! You will not be removing Harry from Carina's care!"

Harry stiffened at Uncle Charlus' words. James and Lily had been trying to take him away from Aunt Carina? No, he would _not_ go with those two! He absolutely _refused_. Allowing them within the house uninvited had been somewhat forgivable, albeit unwillingly by the original occupants of the house, but forcefully removing him from his _home_ to some _stranger's house_?! That went above and beyond anything that Harry had ever witnessed in both absolute rudeness and blatant disregard for Harry's own desires! Harry decided to continue listening before he lost control of his relatively unstable magic, hoping that the words would distract him at least slightly from his growing fury.

"He is _my_ son! I will do whatever I please with him!" James snarled back from somewhere across the room. Harry hissed angrily in his mind, somehow his magic had not yet sprawled across the room in the fashion Aunt Dorea had mentioned previously or maybe it was really spilling out into the room but was lost in the other angry magic that was spilling from the other people in the room. Harry supposed it was probably the latter case, or his magic had been spilling out into the room the entire time he was unconscious so no one noticed the difference anyway. Aunt Dorea said that magic spillage sometimes happened after blocks were dissolved and it made it easier for the person to stabilize his or her magic which meant that he would probably be able to go out sooner than the usual month magic took to stabilize.

"You lost every right to him the day you _gave him up!_ Harry would never wish to go with you if it were to be left up to him anyway, so you cannot claim custody of him by tricking him into accepting you two as his guardians anyway!" Uncle Charlus sounded as furious as he had ever been. With some effort, he was able to make out Uncle Charlus' magic spilling powerfully into their side of the room. Harry silently cheered at his uncle's words despite knowing that James would not believe Uncle Charlus' words and was probably going to do something stupid. Harry waited for any sign of James' next stupid action. Such a thing came soon enough.

"Take one step forward and you _will _be disowned, boy! I may not be your father, and thank Merlin for that, but I am the Lord here. You have been disgracing the name of Potter ever since before you had come of age! I accepted it while you were still in Hogwarts on request of your parents. I had foolishly been under the entirely incorrect assumption that you would learn to grow up, you have been an embarrassment to me and the name of Potter ever since!"

The fury that had filled Uncle Charlus's voice was startling, even though the anger that had been in was openly noticeable. Harry could only assume that James had attempted to get closer to him in an attempt to take him 'home', wherever James had assumed that would be to Harry. Harry had the urge to open his eyes and look at what must have been a truly precious expression on James' face at those words but he viciously stomped down on that urge, knowing somehow that it would not help the situation any. James would probably drag him in to that and cause the argument to go on for longer.

"Now, now, don't you think you are being just a little rash, Charlus? Young James only wishes to take his son to the place where he should have grown up all these years."

Harry had almost forgotten that Dumbledore would have to be present when he woke to make sure there were no lasting ill effects, or some such drivel or the other that he had mentioned only in passing. Harry did not trust the man any further than he could physically throw the man and would make sure that he got either Aunt Dorea or Uncle Charlus to make sure there weren't any extra _additions_ to the ritual that had been required to unbind his magic that would make him more inclined to follow the old man's _advice_ or to trust the man in any way.

Harry heard Aunt Dorea snort from somewhere to his right. "And exactly whose fault is it that Harry was unable to grow up with his birth parents? _Ours_? Or maybe you blame Carina for _taking care_ of the child who _you_ decided to abandon. Good Merlin, those two _chose_ to keep Harry's twin instead of him _for the fame that Gabriel would bring to you_ and certainly not out of a desperate desire to raise the boy properly and care for him like parents should. Merlin knows that Gabriel only saw his parents once in a blue moon, both too busy to notice him or even tuck him into bed every night forget about being there for Gabriel when he needed you. I pitied the poor boy, Gabriel was used _by his own parents!_"

There was a moment of tense silence. Harry could hear a slight rustling of clothing.

"Don't you dare, boy!" Charlus snarled again in fruitless warning.

"You cannot disown me unless you have a second from an heir or potential heir of the Potter Line. You have no one to back your disownment should you decide to carry it out." James sounded triumphant. A truly disgusting sound that was full of both the arrogance and pride he seemed to wear like his favourite cloak. Harry only looked forward to the day that cloak tore and James could no longer hide behind it any longer. James sounded as if he had won some great prize. Harry heard him take a couple of steps closer as if to prove something.

Harry was about to open his eyes, sit up and second that disownment when something snapped, or at least it sounded like some great elastic band had suddenly given up under a great amount of pressure and refused to stand it any longer. The sound was accompanied with a large release of magic and a sudden gasp.

This time Harry could not resist the urge that filled him. Harry opened his eyes and sat up, managing to go unnoticed in the shock that had filled the room. It looked like Uncle Charlus himself had not been expecting the disownment to be passed, his eyes were slightly wider than usual. Aunt Dorea had managed to recover somewhat, but her thoughtful gaze was flickering between Uncle Charlus and James. If Harry knew anything about her, he knew that her mind was currently working a mile a minute to figure out the mystery that had befallen them. There were no clues though as all the living Potters were currently in that very room and none had spoken.

It had been James that had gasped. He was leaning against the nearby wall with Lily by his side. Lily did not look like she was helping all that much but Harry guessed that there really was not much they could do when someone had just been stripped of their name and everything that came with it, everything that was inherited through the bloodline, or so Aunt Dorea had once told him. Dumbledore had merely spared James a glance and a wave of his wand that summoned a chair to support James, before giving Uncle Charlus a piercingly disappointed look before realizing that Uncle Charlus probably had no clue how James had been disowned either.

It was then that Aunt Carina realized that Harry had woken up and began bustling around him as if he had somehow landed himself in hospital and had been unconscious for some time. The latter _was_ partially true, Harry amended after some thought but Harry merely smiled and waved away her questions. He felt perfectly fine, there was no reason to worry about him. Dumbledore only asked him a couple of questions before he, Lily and James left the house to the intense relief of the usual occupants of the house. The atmosphere immediately grew more calm and welcoming.

"Do you remember what we planned Harry? You will remain in this room until both Charlus and I are satisfied with your control over your magic so that you don't end up exploding something you don't want to. We will ask Ollivander to visit to equip you with your wand soon and we will begin to teach you as much as we can in the precious few weeks that we have," Dorea summarized for Harry quickly. Harry nodded, still remembering all the reasons and potential mishaps that could happen should he lose control of his magic. He agreed with them completely especially after he had read about the few people who had not bothered to be careful after having their magic unbound.


End file.
